We reported not too long ago about the ways LeapFrog's been grabbing some of Nintendo DS' territory as a hand-held learning tool for the littlest gamers, but if we start seeing more DS titles like Natsume's new Hi! Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Challenge (say that three times fast), the mighty 'frog could be kept at bay a little longer.
Aimed at those kiddoes for whom Brain Age is too advanced but big brother or sister's DS is just too alluring, the game does require some rudimentary reading skills, so don't expect to be able to slide it into Junior's DS Lite and just walk away. In fact, it seems Ham-Ham Challenge's developers already had that possibility in mind, as they've thrown in a bunch of features that enable Mom and Dad to monitor children's progress, adjust the game's difficulty level, control play time, and even grant rewards via special in-game goodies.
As for gameplay, nothing too taxing here, which is just the point: The characters, all pulled from our favorite hamster-starring Japanese cartoon, are there to entertain, while the 12 minigames are meant to give kids' brains a workout, specifically through focusing on memory, math, word-comprehension and fine-motor skills, among other kindergarten-age necessities.
Rated "E" for Everyone, Hi! Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Challenge is $29.99 from Amazon.
